Celebrating social care research partnerships
We’re excited to be hosting a series of webinars to highlight six social care research-practice partnerships. The projects have been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme.
Information on our webinars
When will the webinars take place?
We’re running four webinars between July and December 2025 to explore how the projects are building research capacity in adult social care.
Who are they for?
The webinars are open to everyone but are targeted at senior leaders and managers working in social care settings across the four nations.
What are they about?
Representatives from the projects will share what they’ve learned and discuss the impact of their work.
Three of the webinars will be bitesize sessions and each will focus on one of the following themes:
- awards and fellowships
- embedded researchers
- research in practice teams.
In September, we’ll also be running a longer session (a half day webinar) to look at learning in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) considerations in research capacity building.
A Wales-specific webinar will be held towards the end of the year to explore how we can apply learning from the projects here in Wales. Further details will be made available soon.
Projects in the spotlight
In this section you can find more information on the six projects that are the focus for these webinars.
Kent Research Partnership
What is the project?
The project has four interconnected streams of work that brings researchers and practitioners together to share knowledge and develop a culture of research and evidence-based practice.
This includes setting up communities of practice, facilitating researchers in residence, providing research fellowships to people working in social care and sharing knowledge and impact in a variety of ways.
Project details
- expected timeline: June 2021-September 2025
- lead organisations: University of Kent and Kent County Council
- location: Kent
- partnership includes: academics, senior managers and social care practitioners, social care providers and members of the public.
Website: https://research.kent.ac.uk/chss/kent-research-partnership/
Email contact: ann-marie.towers@kcl.ac.uk
ConnectED
What is the project?
The project aims to support evidence-based decision making in adult social care.
The focus is on supporting people who work in social care to identify, access and use research to inform policy and practice, and therefore improve outcomes for people who access care and support.
Project details
- expected timeline: July 2021-December 2025
- lead organisations: NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board
- location: West of England
- partnership includes: local authority adult social care departments, service providers, universities and service users and carers.
Email contact: Christie.Cabral@bristol.ac.uk
Project details
- timeline: November 2021-January 2025
- lead organisation: University of Plymouth
- location: Torbay, Cornwall, and Somerset
- partnership included: three local authorities, three universities and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.
Website: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/primary-care/peninsula-adult-social-care-research-collaborative
Email contact: P.Welbourne@plymouth.ac.uk
The Curiosity Partnership
What is the project?
The Curiosity Partnership aims to build the infrastructure to help support the development and use of research that addresses local priorities and improves social care. The research partnership allows councils and academics to work together and involve people who access services and their local communities.
Project details
- expected timeline: June 2021- December 2025
- lead organisation: University of York
- location: Yorkshire and the Humber
- partnership includes: four local authorities and four universities.
Website: https://www.curiositypartnership.org.uk/
Email contact: mark.wilberforce@york.ac.uk
The SCRiPT Study
What is the project?
The project aimed to build research capacity in adult social care services across Hertfordshire and Norfolk by embedding researchers and social care practitioners into research in practice teams.
The partnership promoted carrying out research that reflected the needs of the local population and supported the development of research skills among social care staff.
Project details
- timeline: June 2021-December 2024
- lead organisation: University of Hertfordshire
- location: Hertfordshire and Norfolk
- partnership included: researchers and adult social care partners in local authorities.
Website: https://scriptstudy.org/
Email contact: k.almack@herts.ac.uk
Creating Care Partnerships
The project aims to develop, implement and evaluate an approach called Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs) to use in adult social care in England.
The term refers to long-term collaborations between researchers and practitioners in carrying out research and using it in practice. The work has been based in care homes for older people in Newcastle, Chester, and Lancaster.
Project details
- expected timeline: June 2021-December 2025
- lead organisation: King’s College London
- location: Newcastle, Chester, and Lancashire
- partnership includes: people with lived experience, universities, social care providers, adult social care researchers, designers, experts in implementation, improvement and evaluation, and Shaping Our Lives, an organisation led by people who use care and support.
Website: https://transforming-evidence.org/projects/creating-care-partnerships
Email contact: annette.boaz@kcl.ac.uk
Book your place!
If you're interested in signing up for one of our webinars visit: Gweminarau prosiectau NIHR Projects webinars | Eventbrite.
